Best PlacesJalapa, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Jalapa, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Jalapa ranks 42,548th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Jalapa
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Jalapa's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jalapa ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Cheap childcare$552 a month, better than 87% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 71% of towns
- Short commute24.4 minutes each way, better than 66% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 62% of towns
Where Jalapa ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 9% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 14% of towns
- Household income$52,297 median, better than only 15% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 18% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Jalapa
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jalapa home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,297, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Jalapa's effective rate of 0.62%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Jalapa
Jalapa's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Jalapa.
Who works in Jalapa, and how
Work in Jalapa centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Jalapa
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Jalapa.
What the weather is like in Jalapa, month by month
Jalapa sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 44° | 36° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 52° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Jalapa
The nearest airport, Columbia Metro, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 73 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jalapa
Schools across Jalapa average a C, better than 30% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Whitmire Community School (elementary)B · 50% proficient
- Joanna Woodson ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- Newberry ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Newberry MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Whitmire Community School (high)C+ · 40% proficient
- Newberry HighC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jalapa school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jalapa measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Jalapa against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Jalapa
Is Jalapa a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jalapa ranks 42,548th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on crime and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jalapa expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $108,495. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $52,297 median income, cost of living beats 14% of towns.
Is Jalapa safe?
Jalapa is safer than 9% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $739 per resident a year.
Compare Jalapa with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jalapa. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jalapa represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Jalapa detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jalapa: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jalapa: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jalapa: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jalapa: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jalapa detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.